Opening Doors of Opportunity for those in need

Soles4Souls distributes donated shoes and clothing around the world to help those in need. Since they rely on donated items, they needed to increase awareness of the brand, but had not been able to develop a clear and concise articulation of what they do. And therefore, had never run a campaign.

To make their mission more understandable to their crucial American audience, we created a laser-focused 360 campaign to communicate how the non-profit affects people domestically in a simple and concise way. We used a ubiquitous and instantly recognizable sign everyone knows, to strike right at the heart of the issue: the “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” sign, scene at entrances to restaurants and malls. But we put a twist on it to stop viewers in their tracks and to get them thinking about an issue in their very own backyard.

The “Doors of Opportunity” campaign uses these signs to speak to three domestic pillars: housing, employment, and education. This creative approach communicated that lacking adequate shoes and clothing creates both emotional and literal barriers to accessing fundamental cornerstones of living a life with dignity and opportunity. The signs featured an unexpected, thought-provoking spin, replacing “No Service” with a hard-hitting, pillar-focused terms, like “No Home”. Each sign was paired with a visual setting relative to the pillar (e.g. a school, business, or house). Finally, this message was reinforced with a simple yet powerful CTA that answered the “No Shirt/Shoes” sign: Help Turn No into Yes.

By focusing on the essence of what the brand does – changing lives with proper shoes and clothing – the campaign allowed Soles4Souls to finally articulate the work they do in a concise and effective way. And while all previous communications focused on showing “the solution” (the after), this shifted to showcasing “the problem” (the before), of a life without shoes and clothing.